Carlton Highsmith, vice chairman of Quinnipiac University's trustee board, has donated $1 million to accelerate the Hamden college's School of Business' innovations in entrepreneurship.

The university today announced that, in return, it will match the gift to establish the Carlton Highsmith Chair in Entrepreneurship. Quinnipiac will match Highsmith's gift.

Quinnipiac also announced that it will partner with the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (ConnCAT), to establish the ConnCAT Entrepreneurial Academy, where inner city youth will learn to launch their own businesses.

Highsmith is the retired vice chairman of PaperWorks Industries of Philadelphia.

Highsmith was the founder, president and chief executive officer of the Specialized Packaging Group, Inc., which merged into PaperWorks in 2009, according to Forbes. PaperWorks is the third largest integrated recycled paperboard company in North America.

In the academy, business leaders in the Greater New Haven area and Quinnipiac faculty and students will serve as mentors and role models, sharing their knowledge of finance, management, marketing and advertising with inner-city youth, Highsmith said.